Interlude 5 - Progress

“She accepted,” Councilor Farrah informed the gathered Council members and trusted advisors. There were very few of the latter, and they had no real say in matters, but for less formal meetings such as this, it was acceptable to include them.

“That was prompt,” Arbiter Eskin’s secretary said approvingly. “Shall I depart to complete the arrangements, then?” he asked, turning toward his boss.

Arbiter Eskin nodded, and the younger elf silently departed, taking his belongings with him.

Anya watched the exchange with a barely suppressed smirk. She’d already known that Emie would accept the Council’s invitation. It was one of the perks of being a Fate Mage.

Of course, some things were far easier to foresee than others.

“Good. We should focus on something more important than balls and trying to impress a tri-affinity mage,” Councilor Tobi, the normally stoic dwarf, said with a grunt. He turned to Anya. “What of the Collective? Are they going to make a claim on the Tier Six world we’ve selected as the next frontier world to subjugate?”

Anya’s lavender eyes glowed for a moment as she verified nothing had changed. She probably could have answered without verifying, but doing so would have invited far more discussion on the matter.

It was easier to just check and make sure.

“No. The world is far enough away from Collective space that they don’t seem to care,” Anya replied before adding, “At least, they won’t for the foreseeable future. There’s always a chance that may change, but it won’t be until after the subjugation is complete.”

“Of course, those monsters would wait until the world is subjugated to make a claim!” Councilor Farrah, the Council’s resident drakin, growled.

As a member of a demi race, Councilor Farrah was particularly sensitive when it came to the Collective. It didn’t help that several Collective worlds were home to demis – or beastkin, as they called themselves in the Collective.

“And if we select a different world?” Councilor Tobi asked, ignoring Councilor Farrah’s outburst. She was currently the only demi on the Council, but that would change as soon as Arona’s replacement reached Tier Ten.

A satyr had won the sect competition this time. It was an interesting outcome, considering how few demis lived in sect-run territories.

Anya shook her head slowly. “I doubt it would change. The likelihood of a conflict over the new world is not high. And by the time it would matter—”

“A quarter of us will have moved on, and a new Arbiter will be in place,” Councilor Fabian, the aging gnome Artificer, chimed in grumpily. It was obvious he’d rather be anywhere other than meeting with his fellow council members.

He was also the next Councilor expected to ascend since he was rapidly coming to the end of his extended lifespan. Even additional rejuvenation treatments were unlikely to grant him much more time.

“I don’t think that was the point she was going for,” Councilor Lance said lightly as he squeezed his wife’s hand under the table.

“Regardless, we’ve already decided on a target,” Arbiter Eskin said resolutely. “We’ll announce the opening of a new frontier world at the ball. The news should be welcome to those who made use of Agirock to progress.”

Anya listened with half an ear as the council members moved past the current topic and discussed various matters on the agenda. They only met one day a week, but given the time dilation on Sira, they were easily able to keep up with the important happenings within the Alliance.

Now that Anya had largely stepped away from the Epikairos Sect, she had a lot more free time since she worked based on the Council’s schedule.

It was a good thing since she needed to focus a little more on her own progression, or else she’d find herself left behind when her husband reached the end of his lifespan. More likely, she’d reach the end of her lifespan since she was two tiers weaker than her husband.

While Time, Life, and Nature magic could extend a natural lifespan by a significant amount, it was not infinite. Even Time Mages could not restore themselves indefinitely.

It almost seemed like they could sometimes, but as the sister to one of the most powerful Time Mages in the Alliance, Anya knew better.

Maybe she’d reach out to Emie and see if she was interested in delving with her.

= = =

Bell lightly sketched the rune Emie suggested she use for the targeting portion of the formation on a formation overlay. Using this approach, she was able to change the runes used for different parts of the formation without needing to redo everything.

Since Bell wasn’t familiar with the rune, Emie would have to do the actual work to prevent any issues from cropping up. But for a draft, it would be fine.

Bell sighed and leaned back, taking in the overall project. She idly tapped her lips as she considered the changes.

It would probably be better to have Emie do the whole thing for consistency’s sake. Besides, it wasn’t like she’d need to be able to create another one. As much as she hated it, she knew she’d only get to do this once.

Either Anya was wrong and Bell would save her husband, or Anya was right and Justin would die again. And if Anya was right, that meant trying another time would invite the wrath of the realm, potentially putting her children at risk.

She wouldn’t do that, no matter how much she missed Justin.

Either way, at least she’d know. There wouldn’t be any uncertainty or doubt. It would make it easier to move on.

The thought made her chuckle mirthlessly.

There was no moving on, not really. She might tell herself that, but Bell knew deep down that it wasn’t the truth.

She’d keep her promise and try, but Bell had no expectation that her heart would ever truly be whole without her soulmate.

“What do you think about this, Justin?”

“Provided the formation is properly constructed, there is a 91% chance that your soul will undergo irreparable damage, leading to your demise in this timeline. There is also a 43% chance that your goal of copying your memories will be successful.”

The voice was Justin’s, but the inflection was very robotic. She knew asking her Interface Assistant to speak in his voice and answer to his name was a bad idea, but Bell couldn’t help herself.

Even a shadow of her love was better than nothing.

She’d tried getting it to sound more natural, but it was almost like the system blocked her Interface Assistant from developing the capability. And since mundane technology could mimic voices based on a sample before the apocalypse, she could only assume the limitation was purposeful.

It was bullshit.

Who was the system to judge her, anyway?

“Based on Emie’s notes, are there any changes that can be made to improve the odds?” Bell asked, trying to ignore her mounting frustration.

An edited version of the formation was overlaid in her vision, making the variations easy to distinguish from her current blueprint.

After examining the suggested changes, Bell asked, “And what are the odds with these changes?”

“Provided they are accurately enchanted, the chance of irreparable soul damage drops to 85%, with the likelihood of successful memory transmission rising to 54%.”

“Barely over half,” Bell murmured. It was honestly better than she expected. “How did Emie ever manage it?”

After staring blankly at the formation for several minutes, Bell shook her head and directed her Interface Assistant to save the blueprint and continue working on improvements. After a moment of consideration, Bell forwarded the blueprint to Emie, along with her assistant’s estimates.

Emie probably expected her to wait until just before she reentered the dungeon to use the formation, but Bell had no intention of dragging things out that long. She’d already been without her soulmate for far too long. She was tired of waiting.

One year. That was all she was willing to wait.

Either Emie would follow through with her promise and help, or Bell would figure out a way to do it on her own.

An incoming video call chimed, and Bell glanced at the time.

It was time for Amie’s weekly call.

Bell fumbled with the charms around her neck before remembering that she’d changed the [Makeup] talisman to a pair of earrings. Thankfully, she was wearing them.

Activating the charms, the bags under her eyes were hidden, and her pale skin was replaced by something a little more vibrant and healthy looking. Her hair also appeared cleaner, and the realization made Bell wince.

She reminded herself to cast Cleanse once the call was over. She’d been neglecting herself a bit too much lately.

“Hey, Amie!” Bell said brightly. She hoped her Mind-reading adopted daughter didn’t read too much into her delay in answering.

“Hey, Mom. Did I interrupt one of your projects?” Amie asked.

“Oh, not really. I was just brainstorming a few things and making plans.”

It was important not to lie to a Mind Mage, even though an interface call. While the magic didn’t work quite as well, blatant falsehoods would still stand out.

“That’s good. Have you been spending time with Aunt Emie since she returned?”

“I have!” Bell said with a grin that was just a little too wide. “Her friend Zavira and I helped her decorate her new place. She set up a two-story pod, and we bought a ton of furniture so she can change things every once in a while.”

“That’s smart. I guess she’s already planning to go back into the dungeon?” She said it with a little pout, causing Bell’s smile to shift into something a little more genuine.

“She’s not in any hurry to leave, but we wanted to make sure she was comfortable when she does return,” Bell said gently.

“I guess that makes sense,” Amie said before shifting the conversation. “Oh, I meant to tell you. Your trip to Agirock inspired me, and I decided to do my own power-leveling trip with Stella.”

“The Space Mage that used to work with Emie?”

“That’s the one,” Amie agreed. “She’s Ms. Rhona’s cousin. I think she feels a little bad that her student is so much stronger than she is now.”

“That’s hardly a fair comparison considering Emie’s experiences,” Bell stated.

Having worked with Emie wasn’t Stella’s only connection to her family. The Asper family had also contracted with Lucas, providing for his schooling and a stipend in exchange for service after he completed his time in the Space Exploration Force.

As far as she knew, they were good people.

“Yeah, well, we’ll be heading there in a couple of weeks. You can come with us if you’d like. You’re the right level to benefit.”

It felt a little odd to be so close in progression with her child, but such was life, sometimes.

Amie had gotten a lot of advantages from working for Rhona, just like Bell had back in the day. She didn’t begrudge her adopted daughter’s success.

“Let me see if I can clear up my schedule,” Bell said.

She’d been tempted to decline offhand, but stopped herself. If she was going to use the formation in a year, she didn’t want to waste the time she had remaining.

= = =

“How long will you be gone?” Kaylee’s new assistant asked for the third time.

The demi girl was nervous about being left to run the clinic, but Kaylee knew she’d be fine. She’d been trained well and had a strong enough Life affinity to heal anyone who needed help, be they humanoid, demi, or beast.

“Just a few days. You’ll be fine,” Kaylee assured her. “You can contact me with any questions if necessary.”

The girl nodded before giving her a nervous smile. “O-Okay. Be safe.”

“Don’t worry,” Kaylee said, tying her long blonde hair into a ponytail. “Earth is only a Tier Three world. I’ll be one of the strongest people there.”

“I still can’t believe you’re from a mundane world.”

“Technically, I’m not,” Kaylee replied. “I was born on Hadier, but my parents are both from Earth. Mom moved back there after my older brother died.”

The assistant winced. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know.”

There was a lot about the Veterinarian that her assistant didn’t know. In fact, there was very little about her boss that the girl did know.

She had no idea that Kaylee’s older sister was the famous tri-affinity mage that had disappeared two decades earlier, only to recently reemerge a full tier stronger.

That had caused a stir even on Morkin, and the demi homeworld was one of the least connected worlds in the Alliance. Even Earth was better informed about what was happening in the wider Alliance than Morkin.

It was as backwater as a subjugated world could be. But that was by design. A lot of the demis living on Morkin didn’t really want the technology and infrastructure that came with being a regular part of the Alliance.

Life was a lot simpler there, and Kaylee found that she preferred it over the hustle of larger, more connected locations.

After going over everything one last time, Kaylee exited the small clinic and expanded the low-tier pod that Bell had given her when she graduated from the Academy. It was almost certainly a hand-me-down from Emie, but Kaylee didn’t care much about that.

Emie felt more like a concept than a real person.

Kaylee had watched some of the video messages from her older sister when she was younger, but she didn’t know her. And after all this time, it was unrealistic to think she’d still be the same person as the one in the videos.

Who knew how the woman had changed? She was basically a stranger.

Needless to say, Kaylee had mixed feelings about finally meeting her prodigal sister.

She’d wanted to go on the power-leveling trip several weeks earlier, but there was no way she could drop everything with such short notice. Now that she’d had time to plan things properly, she hoped her older sister would make the time to see her while she was visiting Earth.

If not, well… it was hard to miss what you never knew.